Title The cultural imaginary of the internet : virtual utopias and dystopias / Majid Yar

Published Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2014

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Description 1 online resource (116 pages) Series Palgrave pivot Palgrave pivot. Contents Cover; Half-Title; Title; Copyrights; Dedication; Contents; Note on the Author; 1 Unravelling Utopiasand Dystopias; 2 The Techno-ScientificUtopias of Modernity:From Real to Virtual; 3 Virtual Utopias and the Imaginary of the Internet; 4 The Dystopian Worldsof Techno-Science; 5 Virtual Dystopias and the Imaginary of the Internet; 6 Beyond Virtual Utopiasand Dystopias?; Bibliography; Index Summary Contemporary culture offer contradictory views of the internet and new media technologies, painting them in extremes of optimistic enthusiasm and pessimistic concern. This book explores such representations, uncovering the roots of our cultural responses to the internet, centred upon a profoundly ambivalent reaction to technological modernity. Contemporary culture offer contradictory views of the internet and new media technologies, painting them in extremes of optimistic enthusiasm and pessimistic foreboding. While some view them as a repository of hopes for democracy, freedom and self-realisation, others consider these developments as sources of alienation, dehumanisation and danger. This book explores such representations, and situates them within the traditions of utopian and dystopian thought that have shaped the Western cultural imaginary. Ranging from ancient poetry to post-humanism, and classical sociology to science fiction, it uncovers the roots of our cultural responses to the internet, which are centred upon a profoundly ambivalent reaction to technological modernity. Majid Yar argues that it is only by better understanding our society's reactions to technological innovation that we can develop a balanced and considered response to the changes and challenges that the internet brings in its wake Notes Epublication based on: 9781137436689, 2014 1. Unravelling Utopias and Dystopias 2. The Techno-Scientific Utopias of Modernity: From Real to Virtual 3. Virtual Utopias and the Imaginary of the Internet 4. The Dystopian Worlds of Techno-Science 5. Virtual Dystopias and the Imaginary of the Internet 6. Beyond Virtual Utopias and Dystopias? Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Majid Yar is Professor of Sociology at the University of Hull, UK. His recent publications include Cybercrime and Society, 2nd edition (2013) and Crime, Deviance and Doping: Fallen Sports Stars, Autobiography and the Management of Stigma (2014) English Subject Internet -- Social aspects. Technological innovations -- Social aspects Utopias. Dystopias. Utopias dystopias. Cultural studies. Impact of science & technology on society. Virtual reality. Society. Dystopias Internet -- Social aspects Technological innovations -- Social aspects Utopias Internet Virtuelle Realität Utopie Anti-Utopie Kulturphilosophie Society. Genre/Form Utopian fiction. Dystopias. Form Electronic book ISBN 9781137436696 1137436697 1349493562 9781349493562

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